Metering arrangement for telephone systems



Oct. 9, 1951 H. L. H ORWITZ I METERING ARRANGEMENT FOR TELEPHONE SYSTEMS Filed June 25, 1945 IDs/ll. Lu

IN VEN TOR.

Hf/W? Y L HORW/TZ Arm/Wm BY v 29%? 03/1/1298 W Patented Oct. 9, 1951 UNITED STATES A'E'Eti'l? METERING ARRANGEMENT FOR TELEPHONE sYs'r Ms Application June 23, 1945, Serial No. 601,097

3 Claims.

This invention relates to telephone systems and more especially to call metering arrangements therefor.

A principal object is to provide improved cir cuit arrangements for controlling the operation of a calling subscribers service meter.

, Another principal object relates to call metering arrangements of the so-called booster battery type, wherein an improved arrangement is provided for deriving the booster voltage required for operation of the service meter.

Another object is to improve the accuracy and reliability of operation of a calling subscribers service meter.

A feature of the invention relates to a call metering arrangement employing a call service meter which registers only when a booster voltage is applied thereto, in conjunction with a discharge tube which acts as a discriminator between low voltage battery e. g., talking battery, and the booster voltage impulses required for metering.

A further feature relates to a call metering arrangement of the booster voltage type, wherein the booster voltage is derived from the usual low frequency alternating current ringing equipment.

A still further feature relates to the novel organization, arrangement and relative interconnection of parts which cooperate to produce an improved service metering arrangement for telephone systems.

Other features and advantages not specifically enumerated will be apparent after a consideration of the following detailed descriptions and the appended claims.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a generalized schematic diagram of a telephone system embodying features of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a wave diagram explanatory of certain features of the invention.

The invention in one of its aspects, is in the nature of an improvement on the system described in copending application Serial No. 601,096, filed June 23, 1945, now- Patent No. 2,566,330, granted September 4, 1951, although it will be understood that in its broader aspects the invention is applicable to any telephone call metering arrangement. It will be clear therefore, that the illustration of the invention in connection with one particular kind of automatic telephone system, is not by way of limitation. thereto.

There. is disclosed in said application Serial No. 601,096, a service metering arrangement whereby a calling subscribers service meter is operated in multiple units according to the assigned tariff rate of the called station with respect to the calling station. The metering impulses in the prior arrangement required the use of a special booster battery, and a specially designed service meter whichl was marginal in operation. In accordance with the present invention, both these requirements are avoided since use is made of the standard 20 C. P. S.

ringing current equipment to derive the required booster voltage for operating the service meter, and a gas discharge device such as a neon bulb is connected in series with the service meter to act as the voltage discriminator.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawing, it will be assumed that the calling subscribers station A has been extended in the well-known manner via line finder switch LF, selector switch SI, interofiice repeater trunk R, selector switch S2, and connector switch C, to the called substation B. It will also be assumed that the called station is idle and that the called subscriber answers. For a detailed description of one typical manner of extending the calling line to the called line by means of automatic switches, reference may be had to pages 53-65 inclusive of Automatic, Telephony, second edition, by Smith and Campbell, published in 1921.

As described in detail in said application Serial No. 601,096, when the repeater trunk R is seized by switch SI, the usual impulse relay 4 and impulse guard relay 5 operate, the latter being of the slow-to-release type. The extended connection via repeater R is rendered busy from the ground at contacts ti and 'l of relay 8, conductor 9, contacts [0 and H of relay 5 to the sleeve or private wire I2 of the trunk. Since the called subscriber has answered, the answer-back relays [L5 and 16 are operated and a circuit is closed from ground at contacts 34 and 35 of relay 36, conductor 31, contacts of relay l6, conductor 38, through the operating winding of relay -8, contacts 40 and 44 associated with cam wheel l8, and thence through the winding of the common start relay l9. Relay I9 is common to all the repeater trunks and at its contacts closes the circuit of motor M. Motor M thereupon starts the metering impulse wheel I! and the cam wheel 18 in operation. At the same time, 'a locking circuit for relay 8 is closed via contacts 411, 4B, 49, 50, 5| and 52.

As described in detail in said application Serial No. 601,096, the metering impulse wheel I! has alprojection 24. which operates in. succession the contact springs 20, 2|, 22 and 23. Each of these contact springs has an associated make-beforebreak contact pair and each spring 20, 2|, 22 and 23 is connected via the common conductor 66 to a source of booster D. C. voltage 61. In accordance with the invention, the source 61 is energized" from the usual 90 volt, 20 C. P. S. alternating current ringing machine which is connected to conductors 68, 69. This ringing current is applied through transformer T to'a full wave rectifier arrangement comprising rectifiers H and 12. The rectified output is then passed through a smoothing filter comprising the inductance l3 and the by-pass condensers 14, '15. The filter l3, 14, 15, should be designed so that even if its output contains a pulsating component, the lower value of the pulsation should be above a predetermined level L as indicated in Fig. 2.

The movable contact 26 of the first contact set associated with wheel'll has its associated contact 25 directly grounded. The contact-26 is connected to the break contact 2'! of the second contact set whose associated contact 33 is connected to a conductor 23. Likewise, the contact 33 is connected to the break contact of the third set, the associated contact 32 of which is connected to the break contact of the fourth set. "Ihecontact sl of this fourth set is connected to a conductor 36. The conductors 28, 29, 30 :are multipled to the contacts, similar to contact 4!, of relays individually associated with respective repeater trunks similar to R. Likewise, conductor 29 is multipled to the contacts 4| of relays similar to 'relay 8 associated with other repeater trunks, and likewise for conductor 28. In the particular example illustrated, the repeater R has the contact 4| of its individual relay '8 multipled to the fourth contact set which is associated with spring contact 23. Consequently, when the wheel ll has made its complete revolution, there has been applied to conductor 39 a succession of four metering impulses of booster voltage via conductor 66 as each of the contact sets is successively closed by means of projection 24. These booster metering impulses 'passvia'conductor 36, contacts 4| and I of relay -8, contacts [6 and H of relay 5, thence over the sleeve or private wire [2 to the private wire of the calling line.

Connected to the calling subscribers private wire is a gaseous discharge tube 16 such as a neon bulb of conventional design having a pair of electrodes in a gaseous atmosphere, and in series therewith is connected the winding of any suitable service meter H which is connected to grounded 48 volt talking battery similarly to the battery for the cutoff relay 18. As is well-known in the discharge tube art, the neon bulb 16 has a striking voltage and a so-called drop-out voltage. In other words, it acts as a voltage discriminator. The booster metering impulses applied to conductor 66 as above described are such that they are above the striking voltage of the neon bulb T6. In order to prevent false operation however, it is important that the filter I3, 14, I5, be designed so that the rectified potential never drops below the extinguishing or drop-out voltage L of the neon bulb 16. As a result of .this series connection of the bulb 16 with the service meter ll, and the correlation of the booster voltage with the striking and drop-out voltages of the said bulb 16, it is not necessary that the meter 1'! be of the marginal type. Since the .bulb..l6.has an ignition or striking voltage and also a drop-out voltage both of which are well above the usual exchange battery voltage e. g., 48 volts, the meter 1-! is effectively disconnected from the release trunk or private wire except when no booster voltage for metering is applied as above described. It is possible therefore, to design the meter" with a less expensive low resistance winding and with a lower critical adjustment of the meter operation. Furthermore, the resistance of this meter winding being in series with the neon bulb [6, acts as a. current limiting device for the bulb and no separate current limiting resistance in series with the bulb is required. When multiple metering is desired during the continuance of the conversational connection, the metering cycle of wheel -Il may be automatically repeated under control of another cam Wheel 53, whose cam projection controls contacts 5! and 52 which in turn control the locking winding of the start relay 8. ,As describedin detail insaid application Serial No. 601,096, when the wheel ll has completed its single cycle, the shoulder 46 onrwheel l8 'connects ground via contacts 43, 44 and ,45, contacts 58, 69, to operate the release relay 36. Relay 36 thereupon breaks the locking circuit for relay 8. The recurrent operation of the wheel ll is therefore controlled by the cam wheel 53' when multiple metering is desired.

Likewise, as described in detail in said application Serial No. 601,096, when the common motor start relay [9 is operated, the start circuit is locked out from other trunks by means of the opening of contacts 40 and 44;; However,

when the desired metering cycle has been completed, contacts 40 and 44 are reclosed thus placing the common motor start relay l9 under control of any other trunk which is multipled to conductor 39 and which trunk is in the answerback' condition. Y

In order to reduce the load on the 20 C. P. S. ringing current machine, the circuit for. rectifiers Hand 12 may be normally open at the contacts 19 and; 80 of thestart relay I3. Thus the ringing current machine is not required to supply power for the booster metering voltage until the member I1 is started in operation under-control of motor M, which in turn is controlled by relays 8 and l9. r r

'Various changes and modifications may be made in the disclosed embodiment without de. parting from the spirit and scope of the inventionr" I What is claimed is: r r r 1. Ina telephone system including calling and called lines, means for connecting a desired called line with a calling line, a, service meter operatively associated with saidcalling line for making a record of the call, said meter being operable to record one or more units in response to received meteringimpulses in accordance with thenumber of such pulses, and a source of alternating ringing current; means for applying impulses to means, said controller means being efiective upon an answer-back condition on the called line to operate said contact means to apply rectified voltage pulses of a number corresponding to the number assigned to the tariff zone of the particular called line across said tube and said meter.

2. A metering arrangement according to claim 1, said voltage conversion means having primary and secondary windings comprising a transformer having primary and secondary windings, a relay responsive to said answer-back responsive circuit, contact means operatively associated with said relay and interconnecting said source of ringing current and the transformer primary winding, grounded center tap for the transformer secondary winding and rectifier means connected to each side of said transformer secondary winding.

3. A metering arrangement according to claim 1, an interrupter, contacts in said circuit operatively associated with said interrupter and motor means for operating said interrupter, said circuit REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Numzer Name Date 1,723,153 Green Aug. 6, 1929 2,041,964 Sandalls May 26, 1936 2,060,261 Stokely Nov. 10, 1936 2,073,756 Osten-Sacken Mar. 16, 1937 2,271,072

Halligan et a1 Jan. 27, 1942 

